Ichthyin (ICHYN)

By in silico analyses, Lefevre et al. (2004) cloned the ichthyin gene, encoding a deduced 404-amino acid protein with a calculated molecular mass of 44 kD. Ichthyin has several putative transmembrane domains and shares approximately 75% sequence identity with the mouse and rat orthologs. It is predicted to localize in the plasma membrane, but does not possess a signal sequence. RT-PCR detected expression of ichthyin at high levels in brain, lung, stomach, skin, and leukocytes, and in all other tissues tested except liver, thyroid, and fetal brain, in which no expression was detectable. Strong expression was observed in cultured keratinocytes from normal skin biopsies; expression was weaker in cultured fibroblasts from the same skin biopsies, in placenta and in lymphocytes.